| Email bulletin 12 July 2010 |
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Apology to Ngarrindjeri women Below is the speech of Tom Trevorrow delivered at Goolwa on Tuesday 6 July in response to the SA Government Apology to the Ngarrindjeri women from the Hon Paul Caica MP * Minister for Environment and Conservation who acknowledged the vindication of the Ngarrindjeri women by the Von Doussa case. Ngarrindjeri in symbolic walk across Hindmarsh Island bridge Secret women's business acknowledgment welcomed [ Tom Trevorrow, 9 July 2010 ] This bridge was built to the detriment of the Ngarrindjeri people. It was built despite the Ngarrindjeri Peoples plea for it not to be built. The Ngarrindjeri women put up a strong fight against a bridge being built in this area. People who did not understand or did not want to understand used all resources to defeat and denounce the Ngarrindjeri women. The 1995 Royal Commission which was set up to investigate the Ngarrindjeri Women’s Cultural beliefs relating to this area was wrong and it is a Royal Commission that should be overturned. The Ngarrindjeri Peoples Culture & Beliefs was wrongfully interfered with. The Ngarrindjeri gave warning that if this bridge is built that bad things will happen within our lands & waters. It has been nearly 10 Years of cultural and spiritual confusion since this bridge has been opened to the Island. The Ngarrindjeri Peoples Lands & Waters have been damaged through this process. But we as Ngarrindjeri People must not continue to let ourselves suffer through what others have done. We must not deprive ourselves from our Culture, Heritage & Beliefs. We must find ways to maintain our Culture, Heritage & Beliefs, we must stay connected with our Lands & Waters to keep the spirit of all things alive. Ngarrindjeri have reflected on the vindication of the Ngarrindjeri in the 2001 Von Doussa Judgement and the apology of the Alexandrina Council in the 2002 Kungan Ngarrindjeri Yunnan Agreement. Ngarrindjeri struggled to maintain a ferry to the island and our preference is to still have a ferry to the island Ngarrindjeri Elders & Leadership have discussed all these issues in great depths and have made a decision to cross this bridge to get to our Island to maintain our cultural connection to country. We may use the bridge to access our Lands & Waters but culturally, and morally cannot come to terms with this bridge. Whilst those of us who choose to cross this bridge let us call on the spirits of our ancestors the spirit of our lands & waters the spirits of our Elders the ones who fought against this bridge being built here and have since departed from this world. Lets us call for their blessings & healing, let us be guided by our Mee-Wee our connection to our country. Tom Trevorrow Chairperson (Ngarrindjeri Heritage Committee inc) http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/legal-affairs/apology-to-ngarrindjeri-women/story-e6frg97x-1225887766435 Apology to Ngarrindjeri women * David Nason IT began as a dispute over a plan for a bridge linking the small South Australian coastal town of Goolwa to Hindmarsh Island. When it was over the Hindmarsh Island affair had become one of the most complex and bitterly litigated racial conflicts in Australian history. Now a new chapter is to be written with the Rann government to formally acknowledge this week that women members of the Ngarrindjeri traditional owners were genuine in the mid-1990s when they said construction of the bridge would violate their most sacred beliefs. It will amount to an apology to the Ngarrindjeri women who had their "secret women's business" denounced as a hoax and fabrication by the 1996 Hindmarsh Bridge Royal Commission. South Australia will now adopt the position of judge John von Doussa who in a 2001 Federal Court judgment dismissed the claims of fabrication, saying the evidence was "significantly different" to that before the royal commission. The occasion for this historical reckoning will be tomorrow's opening of Jekejere Park at Goolwa by state Water Minister Paul Caica. The formalities will end with a march across the bridge led by Ngarrindjeri elder Tom Trevorrow. "The government's words will make a way forward and be a significant step in the healing process," Mr Trevorrow said yesterday. "But whether it brings closure will be up to the Ngarrindjeri women who led the protests. "They will be the ones to make that difficult decision." Some of those women -- including Doreen Kartinyeri,Veronica Brodie, Maggie Jacobs and Connie Roberts -- have since died. Mr Trevorrow was unable to say if today's custodians of the secret women's beliefs would participate in the march, saying that they would be guided by their "mee-wee", or sixth sense, on the day. Apart from the royal commission and a long list of legal actions, the Hindmarsh Island dispute generated numerous official reports on the application of contract, commercial, administrative and constitutional law in cases involving Aboriginal spiritual beliefs. There was also heated public debate about media bias, the nature of anthropological research and the value of Aboriginal culture to Australia. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Government releases Native Title Discussion Paper - 3 July 2010 JENNY MACKLIN MP ROBERT MCCLELLAND MP Government releases Native Title Discussion Paper The Australian Government today released a discussion paper for consultation on possible reforms to the native title agreement process. The Government is committed to ensuring that benefits from native title agreements flow to current and future native title holders. This requires a continued, concerted effort to ensure the millions of dollars flowing from resource projects to native title holders and claimants, are used to strengthen sustainable economic and social development, and benefit future generations of native title holders. The Discussion Paper outlines a number of key options, including: * Establishing an independent statutory officer or body, which would receive and review native title agreements, and assess certain agreements against leading practice principles; The Government is committed to strengthening the governance and capacity of Indigenous corporations, so that we maximise and protect the sustainability of benefits which flow from native title agreements. We will continue to work with Indigenous people to make reforms to the native title system which respond to the changing needs and aspirations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The paper builds on the Government’s recent native title governance work. It also complements the recent consultation paper released by the Assistant Treasurer, which canvasses options to reduce complexity and uncertainty in the tax treatment of native title benefits and structures. The Government will conduct public consultation sessions on the possible reforms. Details of those sessions and copies of the discussion paper are available at www.fahcsia.gov.au/sa/indigenous/pubs/land/Pages/leading_practice_agreements.aspx<http://www.fahcsia.gov.au/sa/indigenous/pubs/land/Pages/leading_practice_agreements.aspx> Submissions close at 5pm, 5 August 2010. The deadline for submissions on the Treasury consultation paper will also close on the same date (previously 2 July 2010). Date: 3 July 2010 Media contacts: Keely Bell 0417 297 157 (Macklin) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ANTaR National Media Release, Friday, 9 July 2010 Constitution Day call for election commitment to reform On National Constitution Day, ANTaR calls on all major parties to make an election commitment to seek reform of the Australian Constitution to recognise the specific status and rights of Indigenous peoples. “It is time to deal with the unfinished business of reconciliation, including recognising the unique status and rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in our nation’s Constitution,” said Dr Janet Hunt, ANTaR President. This year’s Constitution Day falls in NAIDOC week, a time of recognition and celebration of Indigenous achievement. This year marks the 110th anniversary of the birth of the Australian Constitution in 1900. Ten years ago, the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation made key recommendations for reform of the Australian Constitution. These included: · the development of a new preamble which recognises the status and history of Indigenous Australians; · the amendment of the race power to authorise the Commonwealth to make special laws only for the benefit of a particular race; and · the inclusion of an equality and non-discrimination clause. “The Council’s recommendations set out a blueprint for the reconciliation process, including reform of the Australian Constitution. Ten years on, and constitutional reform remains unfinished business”, said Dr Hunt. “The Australian Constitution fails to recognise the unique place, history and rights of Indigenous peoples.” “It offers no protection against racial discrimination, and it has been interpreted as enabling governments to legislate to the detriment of Indigenous peoples”, Dr Hunt said. “ANTaR calls on all major parties to make an election commitment to a process of constitutional reform as an essential part of the reconciliation process”, said Dr Hunt. ANTaR launched a year of re-commitment to reconciliation in May as part of the Are we there yet? campaign, with a focus on constitutional reform. ANTaR is the pre-eminent non-Indigenous national advocacy organisation dedicated specifically to the rights - and overcoming the disadvantage - of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Media contact: Janet Hunt – 0408 170 448 Australian Human Rights Commission - 9 July, 2010 Constitutional reform for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is the next major step towards reconciliation and full recognition of Indigenous rights, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Mick Gooda, and Co-Chairs of the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples, Sam Jeffries and Dr Kerry Arabena, said today, on National Constitution Day. Commissioner Gooda, Mr Jeffries and Dr Arabena used 9 July, National Constitution Day and also a national day of celebration of Indigenous people and culture, to call for an election commitment to Constitutional reform from the major political parties and independents. “Both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people have been calling for the recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the first Australians in the Australian Constitution in recent years,” Commissioner Gooda said. “Now is the time to take up this challenge and work together as a nation to build the support needed to make this a reality. “The building blocks are already there with the Queensland and Victorian Parliaments already having changed their respective State Constitutional preambles to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people,” Mr Gooda said. “The National Apology in 2008 was the crest of a new wave of commitment towards reconciliation in Australia – we owe it to ourselves as a nation to ride this wave further to give Indigenous Australians the Constitutional recognition we deserve.” Commissioner Gooda said Constitutional recognition was fundamental to achieving true equality for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. He said the lack of protection for Indigenous peoples in the Constitution has contributed to their unfair treatment in the laws and policies of the nation. The National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples called for bipartisan support. “Successful constitutional change is historically rare and will be impossible without widespread public and political support. Political parties need to make their position clear before the election,” said Dr Arabena. “As we celebrate the achievements of unsung Indigenous heroes this week, we offer Australians the chance to acknowledge our status. “To create a meaningful and lasting partnership, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders must be part of the Constitution - the document that defines the nation’s soul. Mr Jeffries said a huge amount of groundwork had already been laid. “I have confidence that there is goodwill in the community to see this type of practical reconciliation accomplished. “The Congress sees reform as a necessity to underpin a new relationship with all Australians. This is fundamental to build a just and modern Australia,” Mr Jeffries said. Commissioner Gooda, Dr Arabena and Mr Jeffries said once support had been galvanised and all the major parties had committed to Constitutional reform, all the parties could come to the table to discuss the precise content of the reforms. Media contact: For Mick Gooda - Louise McDermott (02) 9284 951 or 0419 258 597 For Dr Arabena and Sam Jeffries – Aaron Ross 0419 434 498 _______________________________________________ |
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